Issue #14: Legal Performance Enhancing Drug
Good morning. It’s Thursday, September 1st. It’s the first of the month, so wake up, wake up, wake up. Yes - we grew up in Cleveland.
“Proper sleep has helped me get where I am today as an athlete, and it is something that I continue to rely on every day.”
Also, don't miss our Thursday Night In recipe that is delicious and just might help make you younger (check it out to find out why).
Reduction in peak performance or time to physical exhaustion due to lack of sleep. Imagine you're training for a marathon to optimize the 26.2 miles. Lack of sleep the night before the race means you hit a wall somewhere between miles 18-21.
Sleep + Performance
Ok - sleep isn't a drug necessarily*, but it sure does boost athletic performance (even for us weekend warriors).
Athletes that sleep at least 10 hours per night include: LeBron, Roger Federer, and Tom Brady (see quote) - just saying these "old" guys have figured something out.
Why can't we perform well without sleep?
No sweat (not in a good way) - our bodies don't fully perspire, leading to increased body temp and break down of all physiological functions 🥵
Too Much Acid - our muscles build up lactic acid more quickly, leading to cramping 😫
Can't Breath - our lungs inefficiently take in oxygen and expire carbon dioxide, leading to lower performance capacity 😮💨
Get Hurt - our minds and bodies aren't in sync, leading to increased risk of injury 🤕
*The NIH defines a drug as a "substance", but from what we can tell, sleep is better than any synthetic substance to "prevent, diagnose, treat, or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal conditions."
Night Owl or Early Bird?
Beyond the standard circadian rhythm we covered on Tuesday (Issue #12) that governs our overall clock - we each possess a specific chronotype with slight deviations to the times that are best for each of us to naturally fall asleep and wake up.
You've been trying to follow that 6am morning routine for years and still dread when your alarm goes off! ⏰ Well, turns out, you might be fighting against your internal clock.
Less than 15% of us should be getting going super early in the day!
Research suggests that morning chronotypes (early birds) operate on circadian clocks that are less than 24 hours and evening chronotypes (night owls) have circadian clocks that are longer than 24.2 hours.
Why does this make any sense?
A 2017 study of volunteers from the Hadza bush camp in Tanzania - which lived similar to our ancestors before the introduction of most modern technology - tracked the group's sleep-wake patterns. What did they find?
No one slept through the night - but total sleep was comparable to modern societies
There was significant variation between individual's sleep-wake times - someone was always awake
The younger group members were typically up later and the elders woke earlier in the morning - confirming the hypothesis that your chronotype shifts earlier as we age
With a varied sleep schedule across the group, at least one individual was "on watch" to protect the group from any danger - which for our ancestors was a life and death proposition every night.
Want more biology?: In addition to age, our chronotype is determined through our genes. Specifically: period genes (PER1, PER2 and PER3) which determine your sleep drive; cryptochrome (CRY1 and CRY2); casein kinase (CK1 ε and CK1δ); circadian locomotor output cycles kaput protein (CLOCK); brain and muscle ARNT-like protein (BMAL1 and BMAL2); and neuronal PAS domain protein (NPAS1 and NPAS2).
Credit: Parsley Health
Your Personal Sleep Schedule
Living a schedule that goes against our personal clock can create sleep debt and social jet lag.
Do you have sleep debt?
Would you consistently sleep well past your alarm if it didn't go off?
Do you sleep longer on the weekend to "catch up" from the week?
If you answered "Yes" to either/both of these questions - well, you have sleep debt.
What about social jet lag?
This is when our schedule - whether due to work, family, school - is misaligned by at least one hour to your personal clock.
70 percent of us probably suffer from at least some form of social jet lag - leading to an estimated 11 percent increase in heart disease. Social jet lag is also potentially a prescription for weight gain.
Two Step Solution
#1 - Determine your personal chronotype
There are plenty of quizzes out there. Most are based on whether you are a bear, lion, wolf, or dolphin. This was made popular by Dr. Michael Breus (aka the Sleep Doctor). You can take his quiz and find out your animal (FYI - Max and I are both Bears).
**As an alternative, we found this online survey to be effective at delivering specific advice on sleep/wake times, melatonin production, and how to optimize your schedule.**
#2 - Find a consistent sleep schedule that works for you, aligns with your clock, and try to follow it 7 days/week (yes, on the weekends too).
A 2021 study of over 2,000 physicians found that irregular sleep patterns "substantially impacted mood and depression" and that "sleep consistency could improve mental health."
We get it...perfect routines and sleep is pretty much impossible to do everyday. Life gets in the way - or sometimes life is just a lot of fun! Maybe you're up late dancing like Roy Williams!
Pro Tip
Don't Look Backward - whether you stay up late, miss a workout, or indulge in that dessert - simply enjoy it! The absolute worst thing you can do is mentally punish yourself today for decisions you made yesterday. We aren't shooting for perfection - we're here to love life!
Find what works for you and always keep looking forward!
Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Serious Play: LEGO aren't just for kids. The program "LEGO Serious Play" (LSP) is now used by Harvard Business School, US Naval Warfare Division, Google and others. Employees made a small LEGO model and describe why they constructed it. Check out all the ways companies are using LEGO sets to improve communication, creativity, and problem solving (hopefully with some fun mixed in).
Go Go Gadget Go: We'll be looking at sleep wearables in a future issue, but if you just can't wait, The Verge recently dropped an article with reviews of the best sleep tech you can buy right now.
Anti-Aging Drug?: One of the most promising anti-aging drugs is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor that is normally used in cancer therapy and after organ transplantations. Turns out maybe even brief exposure is enough to improve longevity.
Thursday Night In
Another frequent request from my wife - Salmon Stir-Fry!
The recipe comes directly from Dr. Kara Fitzgerald's book, Younger You - which is why it's loaded with foods & spices to optimize your DNA!
Here is the answer to yesterday's (Issue #13) Brain Puzzle: 437 + 589 = 1026 or 743 + 859 = 1602
Thank you - see you bright and early (or maybe for you wolves - late in the day) tomorrow!
Check out the latest workout videos on our YouTube channel
Got feedback? Tell us what you think at team@thrive25.com
Want this direct to your inbox? Sign up here
Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.
To health!
Sign up for free:
The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.